A nearly three-decade-old Bronx cold-case ran red hot Monday after NYPD investigators collared the man they believe was behind a brutal double homicide in the 90s, police said.
According to police sources, 64-year-old Larry Atkinson of West 112 Street was cuffed for the 1994 slayings of a Bronx mother and daughter. However, instead of detectives marching the accused murderer to Central Booking Monday night, he was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The bodies of 57-year-old Sarah Roberts and 27-year-old Sharon Roberts were discovered on Feb. 20, 1994 inside of the bedroom of their West 125th Street apartment. Both had been strangled to death and the daughter, Sharon, reportedly suffered from a mental disability, police confirmed.
Authorities spent years searching for the killer, but the case grew cold for 29 years until it was reopened. It was then cops tested previously recovered DNA with new technology, reportedly resulting in a positive match for Atkinson, now a senior.
Police made the astounding arrest at the suspect’s Harlem apartment and he was hauled into the 50th Precinct for questioning. Atkinson has a lengthy rap sheet which includes 18 prior arrests for crimes such as robbery, assault and drug possession.
While behind bars at the precinct, Atkinson claimed he was feeling ill, a source familiar with the investigation told amNewYork Metro, at which point EMS removed the suspect from the stationhouse in a wheelchair before putting him onto a stretcher and loading him into the back of an awaiting ambulance.
Atkinson appeared to shake wildly during the transport.
He is charged with two counts of murder.
